Inboard outboard drive mechanism for boats



Aug. 28, 1962 s. STANDAL 3,051,120

INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 'rSheets-Sheet 1 mllaui fj'u l 28, 1962 s. STANDAL 3,051,120

INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 "rSheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 28, 1962 s. STANDAL INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISMFOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

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Aug. 28, 1962 s. STANDAL 3,051,120 INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FORBOATS Filed May 16, 1958 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 PIC-L4 MW m 1962 s. STANDAL3,051,120

INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 7Sheets-Sheet 5 I mn ui Ill I BY M g7/bg a INVENTOR. jiarzey jZQ/fc/a/Aug. 28, 1962 s. STANDAL 3,051,120

INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 7Sheets-Sheet 6 FIE u- B BY W g Aug. 28, 1962 s. STANDAL 3,051,120

INBOARD OUTBOARD DRIVE MECHANISM FOR BOATS Filed May 16, 1958 7Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. 7

BY W W 3,05Ll29 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,12tl INBOARD OUTBOARD l)MECISM FGR BOATS Stanley Standal, S. 1104 Ray, Spokane, Wash; ElizabethV. Standal, executrix of the estate of said Standal, de-

ceased Filed May 16, 1958, Ser. No. 735,903 8 Claims. (Cl. 115-41) Thisinvention relates to an inboard outboard drive for boat propellers. Asnow constructed outboard motors for boats have certain advantages oncraft, but also have certain disadvantages especially when the powerrequirements run up to forty horsepower and above. One of the advantagesof an outboard motor as they are commonly built is that their propellerscan be swung back and up to avoid breakage when passing over hiddenobstructions in the water and to clean and repair them if they becomefouled or damaged. Much of this advantage is offset, however, by thefact that the entire motor and propeller assembly load is on the boattransom. In the larger outboard motors the Weight is considerable andthey are difiicult to handle. Another fact is the fuel efliciency ofthe. outboard when compared with a good inborad marine motor.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a drive mechanism adaptedto support and drive a propeller with means whereby it may be connectedto a drive shaft extending through the transom of a boat from an inboradmotor, and mount the propeller so it may be swung and raised in the samemanner as the propeller of an outboard motor but without having themotor weight as a part thereof.

More particularly is it a purpose of my invention to provide a drivemechanism for a propeller with means to connect it to a drive shaft ofan inboard motor over or through the boat transom and with means tomount it on the boat transom for swinging movement while so connected,to move the propeller from a position to operate in the water to aninverted position above the drive shaft connection.

My invention is embodied in a drive and support mechanism which embodiesa mounting bracket that is applied to the boat transom around a shaftthat extends over or through the transom from an inboard motor. Thismechanism provides a tubular T-fitting on the bracket, housing the shaftand gearing connecting it to a cross shaft. A propeller support ispivoted on the tubular fitting and carries connections for connectingthe cross shaft to the propeller. The bracket carries a spring latchthat normally holds the propeller in running position but will releasethe propeller to allow it to Swing rearwardly and upwardly if anobstruction is encountered.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings illustrating apreferred form of the invention. While these drawings illustrate apreferred form of the invention minor changes may be made within thescope of my invention as defined by the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the inboard outboard drive showing it appliedto the transom of a boat;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a side view looking at the device from the oppositedirection to FIGURE 1 and showing the propel- 7 ler raised to invertedposition;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a view looking at FIGURE 1 from the left, the propellerbeing broken away; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a modification.

Referring now to the drawing, the boat transom is indicated at 10. Thistransom has a bracket 11 aflixed thereto, the bracket being positionedat the proper angle with respect to the transom by a wedge shaped spacer12. Bolts 13 are used to fasten the bracket to the transom. A driveshaft 14 is mounted in a tubular fitting 15 that extends through thetransom and is bolted to the bracket 11 by bolts 16 extending through aflange 17 on the fitting 15. A propeller support 18 is pivoted on thetubular cross mernber 19 which forms a part of the fitting 15. Thesupport 18 has a stem 29 extending downward and has mounting sleeves 21and 22 which carry a base plate 23 on which a propeller gear housing 24is secured. A propeller 25 has its shaft 26 journalled in the housingand suitably connected by gears 27 and 28 to a shaft 29 which is drivenby a mechanism to be described later, from the shaft 14. The shaft 14 isadapted to be connected by any suitable means (not shown) to a motorwithin the boat 9.

According to my invention the support 18 which carties the propeller andits drive gearing is also mounted upon the fitting 15 so that it can bereadily moved from the position shown in FIGURE 1 to the position shownin FIGURE 5 so as to make the propeller available for clearing anythingthat fouls it or for ready replacement. The construction by which thisis accomplished is more clearly shown by FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, whichillustrate the detailed construction of the support 18. The shaft 14 isjournalled in the fitting 15 by suitable bearings 36 and 31 and extendsinto the cross member 19 of the fitting 15 where it is provided with agear 32. The cross member 19 has a shaft 33 supported therein bybearings 34 and 35. The bearing 34 is mounted in a block 36 fixed at oneend of the member 19. At the other .end of the member 19 is a block 37which is threaded into the member 19 and carries the bearing 35. Theshaft 33 has a gear 38 thereon meshing with the gear 32. The gear 38 isfixed to the shaft 33 adjacent to the bearing 35. The shaft 33 projectsbeyond the member 19 through the bearing 34 and has a gear 39 keyedthereto.

The support 18 embodies a base 40, a web 41, a flat ledge 42 whichterminates in an upstanding portion 43 that provides a rim 44 to seatone end of the member 19, and a housing flange 45 that extends from thebase up over the gear 39. An end plate 46 is fastened to the flange andthe base 40 by screws 47.

To carry the support 18 on the member 19 at the end opposite the flange44 an end plate 48 is secured to the base 40. This end plate 48 has ahousing member 49 that is substantially an inverted U-shaped, with aflange 50 engaging the member 19'. A ring 51 is secured to the end plate48 by screws 52 and this ring receiving the end of the member 19.Suitable O-rings 54 are provided at the ends of the member 19 as seals,between these ends and the members 44 and 51. Thus it is evident thatthe base 40 and the parts carried thereby are actually pivoted on thecross member 19 so that they can rotate between the position shown inFIGURE 1 and the position shown in FIGURE 5. The web 41, of course,extends along the side edges of the member 42 to neet the housing flange45. Thus there is a sealing chamber around the gear 39 and a gear 55which lies beneath the ledge 42 and meshes with the gear 39.

The gear 55 is keyed to a shaft 56 which is coupled to O the shaft 29that carries the gear 28 (see FIGURE 1).

The shaft 56 is journalled in a sleeve 20 which has a flange 58 thereonthat is bolted to the base 40 by bolts has a seat at 53 3 59. The sleeveZilca'rries an upper bearing 60 for the shaft 56 and a lower bearing 61for the shaft. A nut 62 on the lower end of the shaft 56 and a similarnut 63 on the upper end of the shaft, secure the. bearing in place.

In order to swivel the propeller gear housing 2 3- and its mountingplate 23 on the sleeve 2%) so that the propeller may be turned forsteering purposes, the two sleeves 21 and 22 are journalled on thesleeve 24 These sleeves are connected by a rib 64. This rib 64 is alsoconnected rigidly to the mounting plate 23. Between the sleeve 21 and 22a flanged ring 65 is fixed on the sleeve 20. This'ring receives a yoke66 which projects out from the bracket 11 and serves to limit themovement of the sleeve 20 toward the boat. The yoke 66 also carries alatch mechanism which includes a finger 68 that isadapted to seat in anotch 6? provided on the lower flange of the ring 65. The latch isspring pressed by a spring 76 to urge the finger 68 into the notch 69and thus oppose movement of the sleeve 20 awayfrom the bracket 11, butallows the sleeve to swing away in case the gear housing 24 strikes anobstruction. A manual release connection 71 is provided to the latch 67so that the latch can be released whenever it is desiredto manually liftthe propeller to the position shown in FXGURE 5.

Turning of the propeller for steering purposes is accomplished by meansof a yoke 72 which is mounted on the rib 64 by pivots 73 and whichcanswing up against stops 74 that are provided on the rib 64. As'shownin FIGURE 7 of the drawings, steering cables 75 extend downwardly andinwardly from the upper part of the transom and connect with the yoke72. Steering is thus accomplished in a simple manner by using steeringcables such as are frequently used by outboard motors.

The coupling between the shaft 56 and the shaft 29 is made by means of acoupling sleeve 76 which fits over the splined ends of the two shafts.The sleeve '76 is pinned to the shaft 56. The lower end of the sleeve 22is streamlined by being flattened as shown, in order to reduce the waterresistance. In order to remove the propeller and its gearing, the gearhousing 24 can be separated from the plate 23 and the shaft 29 will thendrop out of the sleeve '76. 7

If one desires to have the mechanism equipped with a clutch instead ofhaving a clutch in the connection from the inboard motor to the shaft14, a clutch can be incorporated on. the transfer shaft 33 asillustrated in FIGURE 8 of the drawings. This is done by providing agrooved hub 73 on the gear 38', slidably keeping it on the shaft 33.Then a pin carrying ring '79 is mounted on the hub 7-3 .and is operatedby a yoke 89 that in turn is operated by an arm 81 and a link 82 thatextends into the boat.

In the use of my new inboard outboard drive mechanism, all of theadvantages of the outboard construction with regard to having apropeller that can be swung back and up to clear obstructions, or to.remove any material that fouls the propeller, are retained. Inaddition, my drive mechanism provides adequate connection to utilize ahigh powered motorwithin the boat to drive an outboard propeller. Thesupporting mechanism is such that the drive elements are essentiallyfreed of the load of the propeller. It is also such that allof thedriving elements may be encased in oil or grease to protect them fromcorrosion and to lubricate them.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. An outboard drive mechanism for boats adapted to'drivingly connect apropeller shaft to a shaft within the boat and mount the propeller forswinging movement.

between a lowered water engaging position and'a raised position abovethe water, said mechanism comprising a bracket having means to secure itto a boat transom, a tubular T-fitting aflixed to said bracket havingits stem extending through the bracket, a propeller support pivmemberafiixed oted on the cross member of said fitting, a stem depending fromsaid support, a propeller gear housing pivoted on said stem, apropeller, a propeller shaft carrying said propeller and journalled insaid housing, drive means connected to said propeller shaft andextending upwardly through said last named stem, a cross shaftjournalled in the cross member, means connecting said drive means tosaid cross shaft, a drive shaft journalled in the stem of said T-fittingand means connecting the drive shaft to the cross shaft, said driveshaft and said drive means being maintained in a single vertical planewith respect to the boat.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said propeller supportcomprises a housing enclosing both ends of the cross member and themeans connecting said drive means to said cross shaft are enclosed inthe last named housing.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 together with mean on the bracketand the. stem depending from the support cooperating releasably toprevent the support from turning on said cross member.

4. An outboard drive mechanism for boats adapted to drivingly connect apropeller shaft to a shaft within the boat and mount the propeller forswinging movement between a lower water engaging position and a raisedposition above the water, said mechanism comprising a tubular fitting,means to mount said fitting on a boat transom, a shaft extending intothe fitting from the boat end of said fitting, said fitting having atubular cross thereto, a cross shaft in, and journalled at each end of,said tubular cross member and projecting from one end thereof, gearmeans in said cross member drivingly connecting said shafts, a propellersupport pivoted on said tubular cross member and having a dependinghollow stem, a propeller gear housing, means ivoted on said stern andsupporting said propeller gear housing, a propeller shaft extending fromsaid gear housing, shaft means drivingly connected to the porpellershaft in' said housing and extending up through said stern into thepropeller support and means in said support drivingly connecting saidshaft means to the projecting portion of said cross shaft, said firstshaft and said shaft means being always maintained in a single verticalplane with respect to the boat.

5. An outboard drive mechanism for boats adapted to drivingly connect apropeller shaft to a drive shaft within the boat and to mount thepropeller for vertical swinging movement between a lower water engagingposition and a raised position above the water, said mechanismcomprising a tubular fitting having a stem joined with an integral crossmember, means to'mount said fitting on a boat transom with said crossmember parallel to the transom, a shaft extending through the stem ofthe fitting into the cross member thereof, bearing means mounted withineach end of the cross member, a cross shaft journalled within saidbearing means and projecting beyond one end of said cross member, gearmeans within the cross member drivingly connecting said shafts, apropeller support pivoted on said tubular cross member and having adepending hollow stem, a propeller gear housing, means pivoted on saidhollow-stem and supporting said propeller gear housing, a propellershaft extending from said propeller gear housing, shaft means drivinglyconnected to the propeller shaft in said housing and extending throughsaid hollow stem into said propeller support and gear meansin saidpropeller support outside said cross member drivingly connecting saidshaft means to the projecting portion of said cross shaft.

6. A boat propulsion unit of the character described and including, aframe adapted to be attached to the boat, a drive shaft carried by theframe on a longitudinally disposed axis, an arm shiftable relative tothe frame to support a propeller assembly, a driven shaft carried by thearm to operate said propeller assembly, means pivotally joining the armto the frame on a substantially horizontal transverse axis, anintermediate shaft on an axis coincidental with the axis of said means,the axis of the driven shaft being normal to the axis of theintermediate shaft to swing in a plane substantially coincidental withthe axis of the drive shaft, and a gear drive having a pair of angularlyrelated gears with one gear carried on the drive shaft and the other onthe intermediate shaft and having a pair of angular'ly related gearswith one gear carried on the intermediate shaft and the other on thedriven shaft.

7. An outboard drive mechanism for boats adapted to drivingly connect apropeller shaft to a drive shaft within the boat, comprising a tubularfitting having a hollow stem opening to an integral hollow cross member,said fitting being fixed to a boat transom and extending rearwardlytherefrom with said hollow cross member located in a horizontal positionparallel to the transom, an input shaft rotatably journa'lled within thehollow stem of said fitting, said input shaft being operativcly drivenby the boat drive shaft, a cross shaft rotatably journalled within thehollow cross member of said fitting and projecting outwardly beyond oneend thereof, a propeller support enclosing the ends of the cross memberpivotally supported by said fitting for pivotal motion about the centrallongitudinal axis of said cross shaft, said propeller support includinga depending hollow stem, a propeller assembly mounted at the outer endof the hollow stem of said propeller support and including the drivenpropeller shaft, an intermediate shaft rotatably mounted within thedepending hollow stem, said intermediate shaft being operativelyconnected to the propeller shaft, first gear means located Within saidtubular fitting operatively connected to said input shaft and said crossshaft, and second gear means located within said propeller supportoperatively connected to said cross shaft and said intermediate shaft.

8. An outboard drive mechanism for boats adapted to drivingly connect apropeller shaft to a drive shaft within the boat, comprising a tubularfitting having a hollow stem opening to an integral hollow cross member,said fitting being fixed to a boat transom and extending rearwardlytherefrom with said hollow cross member located in a horizontal positionparallel to the transom, an input shaft journalled within the hollowstem adapted for driving connection to the drive shaft, a cross shaftrotatably journalled within the hollow cross member and projecting fromone end thereof, a hollow propeller support having upstanding hollow endportions into which the ends of the hollow cross member extend, said endportions rotatably mounting the support upon the cross member andenclosing the ends of the cross member, said hollow propeller supportincluding a cross chamber opening into the hollow end portion enclosingthe end of the cross member from which the cross shaft projects andincluding a depending hollow stem opening to said cross chamber, apropeller assembly mounted at the lower end of the hollow stem andincluding the driven propeller shaft, power transmitting means supportedin said hollow propeller support and connecting the driven propellershaft to the cross shaft, and a second power transmitting means in thetubular fitting connecting the cross shaft to the input shaft.

Jacques Feb. 16, 1932. Johnson Jan. 16, 1934

